 |
Summary
Celia Gardiner qualified as a solicitor in
1991 and spent the early part of her career at Norton Rose, specialising
in banking, insolvency and debt restructuring. She worked for five
years as a partner at Richards Butler (now Reed Smith Richards Butler)
where she developed a particular interest in trade and commodities finance,
working as part of a market leading international energy, trade and commodities
team. She joined Watson, Farley and Williams as a partner in January
2008. Her practice consists principally of international trade and
commodities finance in which she acts for banks, non bank lenders, commodities
houses and trade borrowers. Clients include BHP Billiton, Fortis
Bank NV, HSBC Private Bank plc, Lloyds TSB, Europe Arab Bank plc, Persia
International Bank plc and Intesa Sanpaolo. She also continues to
work on corporate debt restructuring and insolvencies, with particular
expertise in the insurance sector.
Recent Experience
- Acting for Intesa Sanpaolo on a €50,000,000
ECA facility to a major Ukrainian borrower financing the export of steel
rolling plant.
- Acting for a Middle Eastern Bank on the
documenting and restructuring of a €160,000,000 facility for the financing
of trade in petroleum products.
- Acting for a Middle Eastern Bank in documenting
and negotiating a £45,000,000 invoice discounting facility to finance trade
in manufactured household goods.
- Acting for Fortis Bank NA on a structured
commodities finance facility secured on soya bean stocks in Paraguay.
- Acting for a major commodities house in
documenting a US$10,000,000 structured sugar financing in the Ukraine.
- Acting for PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP as
administrators of Folksam International Insurance Company (UK) Ltd, including
drafting an innovative scheme of arrangement for the distribution of the
estate.
Education and Qualifications
| 1984
| BA, Classics. Emmanuel College,
Cambridge
|
| 1989
| Law Society Finals (Honours)
|
|
| |
Languages
| Spanish
| Fluent
|
| Portuguese
| Moderate |
|